MY MOK & COO STORY: HOW I CHANGED MY SMOKING HABITS FOR THE BETTER

I’ve long wanted to quit smoking cigarettes. I have done countless times to go cold turkey only to return to my beloved, but life-threatening hobby. Since high school, I simply can’t evade that tempting aroma of a puffball and the act of smoking itself. You see, I am not addicted to nicotine or the other stuff that they accuse that little tobacco stick of. I am simply addicted to the “act of smoking”. From the time you lit the stick to the actual puffing ala movie star to the exhalation of that gorgeous, white puffball. There is something about the whole process that simply relaxes me and clears my mind of clutter. I grew up in an old society where being cool means puffing a smoke, consuming booze and being adrift of society’s standards. The film “A Rebel without a Cause” and countless films with action themes, in our case the Robin Padilla flicks, all the more pushed these rebellious behaviors to our youth.

But now I’m in my middle-aged years. And the specter of death looms large on my horizon. So, this time I have to think hard and deep about my health condition. I have decided to take good care of my health from now on without relinquishing my first love, smoking. So, I decided to buy this cigarette alternative product called MOK. I've been egged by my peers to switch to these heated tobacco products (HTPs) since 2018. They professed that it tastes and creates the same buzz as traditional burning cigarettes without the poisonous toxins and tar that causes cancer and all those creepy stuff. I was initiated to the leading brand of these HTPs called IQOS, made by the World’s largest tobacco maker, Philip Morris. I was initially adverse to it. To my mind, it shortcuts the process of the “act of smoking” premise I was in love with in the first place.

My MOK Mini & pack of COO while sipping my milk tea somewhere in Greenhills
post ECQ

Forward to this day, and I am now huffing and puffing on my black MOK Mini. This is a rectangular gadget that looks like a Zippo lighter but a tad bigger. I bought it because it's pocketable, lighter to carry anywhere and has fewer complications than its bigger sibling the MOK 1.9. In addition, I can smoke continuously on this device with around 10 heat sticks before the battery conks out. It was specially designed for chain smokers unlike the MOK 1.9 where you need to charge the holder a few minutes before you can puff again. I’m also impressed with its build quality. It’s made of glass and adorned with golden metal around it. You wouldn’t be embarrassed to use this outside since it looks sleek, classy, and expensive. Since HTP adoption is still in its infancy stages in the country, it's always a conversation starter wherever I light up.

The core concept is it’s a small heater that heats up a cigarette-like heat stick called COO. COO is made of real tobacco specially designed for the MOK device. It's a half shorter than a common cigarette. You just insert the heat stick in the device, push a few touch buttons, wait for 12 seconds to heat it then puff away. The health advantage of HTPs vs. cigarettes is in its smokeless heating process. Traditional cigarettes are burned to induce the nicotine hit. But with it comes a slew of toxins commonly associated with combustion that includes carbon monoxide, cancer-causing carcinogens, poisonous fumes, toxic metals among many others. But with HTPs, you only get the nicotine and a few toxic substances as the manufacturers claim. Philip Morris in an article even claimed that 90 to 95 percent of toxins found in traditional cigarettes are not present in their heat sticks called HEETs. HTPs like MOK only heat the tobacco to induce the nicotine-laden vapor. That’s another claimed, harmless aspect of these devices, the smoke that comes out of it is not actual smoke but miniscule water vapor. Clinically, these are two very different substances. Another claim is since its vapor, there’s no threat of second hand smoke.

After devouring a burger like this, I normally puff on my MOK w/ COO Golden
Hue heat sticks to celebrate a satisfying lunch

Anyways back to my story, I have been using my MOK Mini for a month already after ditching my favored Winston Lights and I couldn’t be more satisfied. Psychologically, I also feel healthier after the big switch. Although the device doesn’t exactly meet the criteria for my ‘act of smoking’ theory, I’m still happy with it since its better than nothing.

I intend to use it for as long as I enjoy my cup of coffee, my glass of wine, my bottle of beer, my dish of sushi and my zest for life!

The MOK 1.9 is the bigger sibling of my MOK Mini

BTW, MOK & COO can be bought in a variety of outlets such as their Lazada and Shopee stores, DJSHOPPH, HeatNPuff, Lighters Galore and resellers in Facebook. They also have a Philippine website https://mok.com.ph/ and physical stores in Eastwood Mall and SM North Edsa.

By Paolo Angelo Florenda